Hawar News Agency (ANHA), a news outlet affiliated to the Kurdish administration in Rojava, reported that Turkey targeted a vehicle in the al-Hilaliye district in Qamishli. ANHA had initially reported that it was a car explosion.
Three people who were on board were killed in the attack, but it is not clear if they were civilians, a local source told Rudaw English, adding that the armored vehicle belonged to a commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Siyamend Ali, head of media for the People’s Protection Units (YPG), said in a tweet that “three people were martyred as a result of a drone attack against a vehicle in al-Hilaliya neighborhood in Qamishli by the Turkish invading state today.”
Local security forces (Asayish) said in a statement on Tuesday that three “civilians” were killed in the “Turkish drone attack,” identifying them as Yousef Gilo, Mazloum Gilo and Mohammed Gilo.
Rudaw has learnt that Mazloum Gilo is the brother of an SDF commander who was not on board when the armored vehicle was targeted. The other two are close relatives of the brothers.
Ankara has neither confirmed nor denied its role in the incident.#BREAKING A car explosion shook Qamishli city in northeast Syria (Rojava)
— Rudaw English (@RudawEnglish) November 9, 2021
Source and video: ANHA pic.twitter.com/7qrGODPzJN
Turkey often targets Kurdish YPG in Rojava with drones and artillery. The YPG makes up the majority of US-allied SDF in the region and several members of both forces have been killed in recent months as a result.
Three members of the SDF were killed in a Turkish drone attack in Kobane in late October.
A senior Rojava leader condemned the world's silence on these attacks. "Why the international community remains silent on crimes committed by Turkey," Elham Ahmad asked in a tweet on Wednesday morning. Ahmad is president of the executive committee of the Syrian Democratic Council, the political wing of the SDF. She frequently visits world capitals, advocating for support from the halls of power in Washington, Moscow, and Brussels.
According to Ahmad, the three victims were all civilians from the same family.
Ankara claims that the YPG is the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) - an armed group struggling for increased rights of Kurds in Turkey. Turkey considers them both to be terrorist organizations, and frequently carries out military campaigns against them.
Updated at 9:39am, November 10, 2021.
